To End a War
by JulyvsDaniel
Summary: In a war, sometimes a sacrifice is needed, and sometimes, sacrifices aren't made alone. don't read if you haven't read chapter 648 of the Naruto Shippuden manga


I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters. Takes place after Manga chapter 648. If you are not up to date on the manga, DO NOT READ!

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_Italics mean thoughts not transferred to everyone else._

"_Italics with quotes mean telepathic words transferred through Ino."_

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To End A War

Naruto landed on his feet gasping for breath and looking around. Hundreds of desiccated corpses lay around them. Obito stood atop the Ten-tails proudly watching Naruto and Sasuke try and fail at killing it. They had both tried their hardest and within minutes it had drained almost all of their chakra. Both felt weary and the only difference was that Naruto was still standing. Sasuke was on his back about ready to pass out and Jugo was beside him unconscious.

Shikamaru had barely survived and the image of Neji flashed through his head. He knew they were almost out of time and they had to end it but how could they when they couldn't even damage it without being hurt. He looked up at it and suddenly felt the other Tailed Beasts. He could feel their chakra deep inside the Ten-tails. He knew what he had to do but before he could, images of what he regretted once again began to play through his head. Asuma's death again, Sarutobi's death, Jiraiya's death, Neji's, Shikamaru being injured, the deaths of all of the people trying to defend him and fighting alongside him. Then, Hinata being nearly killed by Pein flashed through his head lingering much longer than the others.

_That's...so he..._Hinata thought.

An image of Hinata encased in crystal appeared then was replaced by her fighting the Queen Bee while he simply lay there watching. Then there were words.

_"I'm going to let it absorb my chakra," _Naruto said. _"Then I'll destroy it from inside. When it dies, it'll explode. You all need to retreat to a safe distance while I do. You all need to survive. Sasuke, if Obito lives, you need to kill him. Anything inside it will die when it explodes so don't bother trying to save me."_

As he finished, an image of Hinata standing alone in a field appeared. No one except Naruto and Hinata knew what it meant. It meant that Naruto remembered that she loved him and knew that if he died she wouldn't have anything she would consider worth living for. It meant that he regretted having to abandon her. It also meant that he felt the same for her and didn't want to leave her because he wanted to be with her.

"No!" Hinata said as Naruto began walking forward.

She sprinted after him grabbing his arm and stopping him.

"You can't!" Hinata said tears streaming freely down her face. "Please."

He smiled weakly and kissed her. For half a second and image of Hinata and he standing in the same field with several children running around them appeared. But it vanished as soon as it had appeared and Naruto pulled away.

"I'm so sorry Hinata," Naruto said. "I have to do this."

"I...I know," Hinata said barely holding back sobs. "And I'm going with you."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"I love you Naruto," Hinata said. "And no matter what, I _will_ walk beside you, even if it is to my death."

Naruto smiled and nodded slipping his hand into hers. She squeezed his lightly then he looked back at the Ten-tails as a huge tentacle reached out toward them. He took a deep breath and Hinata turned toward him closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay," Naruto said. "You'll feel tired then it'll be over."

Hinata nodded and wrapped her arms around him. He did the same and the tentacle wrapped around them instantly drawing chakra out of them until they were as emaciated as the corpses around them. Then the let them drop. People throughout the Allied Shinobi Forces began crying but the Konoha 11 were almost all crying. Shino kept his emotions under control and Kiba and Shikamaru held their tears back but the rest were all in tears. Sai was also keeping his emotions controlled but couldn't look at the bodies. Tsunade was also on the verge of tears.

"We need to retreat," Shino said. "A, tell everyone to pull out."

"Right," A said. "Everyone fall back!"

The shinobi looked at each other nervously then slowly began to retreat. It was slow at first then they began to move with some semblance of speed. Finally all that was left was the Konoha 11, Sai, and Sasuke.

"We should move back too," Shino said.

"Right," Kiba said. "Let's go."

He picked up Sakura and put her on Akamaru's back with Tenten then picked up Ino and they all began moving. Sasuke did as well and when they reached the rest of the army they stopped. Then, the Ten-tails began to swell. It grew until it looked three or four times its original size then exploded, leveling everything for several miles. Sasuke and Jugo, who Tsunade had healed, both ran forward to the center of the blast where Obito was struggling to stand. Sasuke and Jugo formed the Senjutsu Susanoo and Obito grinned.

"Your friend was quite strong willed to be able to take the Ten-tails down from inside," Obito said.

"Yes," Sasuke said. "He was."

"Now, however, I will kill you and-" Obito began but Sasuke cut him in half before he could finish.

"Just shut up," Sasuke said. "You killed my friend, I'll kill you!"

He stabbed the Sword of Totsuka down through the top of him sealing him away. Then he released his Susanoo and looked around. The area was destroyed, the Ten-tails was dead, Obito had been sealed away, and Naruto and Hinata were dead. The war was over and the price had been more than anyone had ever thought possible.

"It's over," Jugo said. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said. "I guess, the Allied Shinobi Forces aren't needed. I guess, everyone goes back to their village and then we'll see."

They returned to the others and told them that Obito was gone. The others seemed just as at a loss as they were. Most of them had expected Naruto to help lead the world into a time of peace after the war. In the end, it was decided that everyone would simply return to their respective lands and would try their best to keep peace but no one really believed it would be possible.

To everyone's surprise, it was not only possible but it happened. They were able to keep the peace simply by remembering what Naruto and Hinata had sacrificed to save the world. They had given everything and everyone knew that they were the only reason they had lives with which to try to keep peace. So they tried harder.

Then, on the one year anniversary of the war, three unexpected faces arrived in Konoha. Kakashi had somehow made it back and had found an unconscious Naruto and Hinata at the site of the explosion.

THE END

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